The Marin County Civil Grand Jury is recommending the Board of Supervisors use its authority to uphold access to medical marijuana in the county.

In a new report that borrows its title from the Cheech and Chong movie "Up in Smoke," the grand jury reviews the convoluted history of medical marijuana's legalization in California and recounts the crackdown by federal prosecutors over the past 18 months that has resulted in the closure of an estimated 800 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state.

The grand jury's report notes that while dispensaries once operated in Novato, Kentfield, Sausalito, San Rafael, Fairfax and Corte Madera, all but one have been closed "by the passing of moratoriums and bans by local governments or under the threat of forfeiture by the federal government."

The grand jury says as a result, "safe access for patients who are medically approved to use marijuana is no longer ensured."

The grand jury says the Board of Supervisors — in concert with law enforcement, the county Planning Commission and representatives from the county's Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board — should develop a viable set of ordinances for medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated areas of the county. The grand jury further recommends that the county's Department of Health and Human Services establish standards for edible marijuana sold in Marin County.

The report also includes a disclaimer of sorts: "This report is not to be construed as advocating the use of marijuana for recreational purposes; this is not the grand jury's recommendation."

Scot Candell, a San Rafael lawyer who has represented Marin Holistic Solutions in Corte Madera, Marin's only remaining medical marijuana dispensary, said the grand jury's report "affirms that a well-run collective is a benefit to the community. It's in a community's best interest to work with responsible collectives to give patients access to medicine."

Candell said whether Marin County supervisors take the grand jury's advice will be determined largely by how they think their constituents will react.

"It's 100 percent political," Candell said.

Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian declined to comment, saying he hadn't yet had a chance to read the report.

Supervisor Judy Arnold, the board president, said, "I really congratulate the Marin County grand jury for being compassionate and forward-thinking. I think their suggestions are good."

Arnold said former supervisor Hal Brown, who died of pancreatic cancer a year ago, used medical marijuana to ease his pain. She also noted that when California voters approved the Compassionate Use Act in 1992 legalizing medical marijuana, 73 percent of Marin voters supported the law.

But Arnold added, "I'm not sure what is involved legally. I would want to talk to county planning to see what is involved in creating ordinances."

Supervisor Steve Kinsey said, "I do believe we should provide a structure for some means to deliver safe and reliable medical marijuana for those who are qualified to receive it."

Kinsey said the issue needs to be addressed at the city level as well as the county level. He said Supervisors Susan Adams and Katie Rice were appointed to a committee about eight months ago to study the board's options.

He added, "The federal government has been of no help by their waffling back and forth on whether they want to impose federal restraints on local government and businesses. We need a much clearer federal policy before any meaningful change takes place at the local level."

Marin County Sheriff Robert Doyle said if medical marijuana dispensaries approved by the Board of Supervisors opened in the unincorporated areas of the county, "I wouldn't make it my mission to close them down. I think the board would have to worry more about the federal government. It's still a violation of federal law and the federal government seems to be paying more attention to medical marijuana operations than they did before."

Doyle added, "In some cases, I think the dispensaries are an attractive nuisance." He noted that a gun was fired, although no one was hurt, when a medical marijuana dispensary in Santa Venetia was robbed by three men in April 2012.

In its report, the grand jury stated that in the past three years three major studies, including one by the National Institutes of Health, have concluded that there is no increase in crime in the neighborhoods around dispensaries.

As for the grand jury's recommendation that the county's Department of Health and Human Services establish standards for edible marijuana sold in Marin, Larry Meredith, the department's director, said regulation of food products falls under the jurisdiction of the county's Environmental Health Services division. Rebecca Ng, the division's deputy director, could not be reached for comment.